The Usual Suspects: Avengers Assemble
by IClaudia
Summary: The trials and tribulations of our favourite six superheroes. Set a year after Loki's attack on earth, we follow the Avengers through their most difficult challenge yet: Life. It isn't easy being Earth's mightiest heroes. Finding a life that isn't all about their new full time occupations is not any easier. Rated T for language. There will be more if the reaction is good...
1. Chapter 1

Stark Tower, home to the Avengers, was not a quiet place. With six superheroes sharing the top seven floors, nobody would expect it to be. It was busy, cluttered and often in need of repair. But to those that resided there it was home. A place where they could work and relax.

Despite the noise, there were many places one could be alone. For Tony Stark this was his private lab. Bruce Banner would visit regularly, but worked mainly in the R and D department that was just underneath the first level of the Avenger's quarters. Often he could also be found in Stark's well stocked library at the top of the tower.

Captain Steve Rodgers found solace in the normally deserted gym. With the bifrost repaired and Thor a frequent presence in the tower, he too had been given a floor in which to live. On the days Thor visited, the communal kitchen was his place of refuge. A son of Odin and royalty, the Asgardian did not seem to have any concept of wanting to be alone. On the contrary he seemed to crave company and so found the communal area a haven.

For the two master assassins, a place alone usually meant a place together. More often than not it would be their shared apartment on the third floor of the living complex. However on the rare occasion separation was needed, it would be in a small, confined hiding place. Agent Barton preferring to perch just underneath Iron Man's landing spot, with a view stretching out over the spectacular New York skyline. For Agent Romanov it was any space she could crawl into. Usually favouring an air vent.

These were the few places that could be quiet at anytime of the day or night. Following the events of Loki's attempt to take over the world, they were frequented often. The newly crowned 'Avengers' had found adjusting to living with each other difficult. Now however, a year later, the tower had become home, finding it easier to fulfil their role as 'Earth's mightiest heroes' if they lived together.

Sunday's were the one morning a degree of quiet could be ensured in the tower until at least 11:00am. The top floor and balcony of Stark tower was the main shared area. A communal kitchen with a breakfast bar lined the furthest wall from the windows. In front of the breakfast bar sat a set of comfy sofas and various armchairs arranged around a circular fire place in the middle. From here a nearly panoramic view of the city was exposed by floor to window ceilings. To the right was a dining table that often doubled as a meeting place.

With varying sleep patterns, it was not unusual for at least one agent to wake much before the others. This Sunday morning found Natasha Romanov nursing a coffee while watching the sunrise. She enjoyed these lazy days that allowed her body to wake up in its own time. So much of her time at S.H.I.E.L.D had been spent running entirely on adrenaline with no sleep, relaxing was a luxury.

By the time the sun had risen fully her legs had gone to sleep and her coffee was cold. Taking a sip she wrinkled her nose in disgust. It was difficult to get her legs to wake up but she hobbled over to the breakfast bar as best she could. She placed her cup on the counter and sighed.

It had been a long and confusing week that had left her with a lot to think about. She was still so consumed in her thoughts that she didn't even notice a figure appear behind her. It wasn't until the figure attempted to wrap his arms around her that she moved. Quick as a flash she had an iron grip on his wrist. She twisted his arm behind his back while pushing him to his knees. The assailant yelped.

"NAT?! WHAT THE HELL?!"

"Shit! I'm sorry, you scared me!"

"I was trying to hug you!"

"Well don't sneak up on me!"

"Nobody can sneak up on you Nat"

"Well I was thinking"

"Nat?"

"Yeah"

"Can you let me go?"

She immediately loosened her grip and stooped to help Clint up. He looked flustered and was still breathing heavily, so she reached her arms around his neck and hugged him.

"What is up with you?"

"Nothing, you just made me jump"

Her voice was muffled against his shoulder. There was a rare, but not unheard, vulnerability in her voice. He kissed the top of her head.

"You're warm?"

He half asked as he pulled her backwards to look at him. She avoided her eyes and shrugged away from him.

"Nat?"

It's nothing, I'm just tired. Do you want coffee?"

He nodded silently as she moved towards the kettle and he went to sit at the breakfast bar. Taking note of her half drunk coffee he decided to keep an eye on her quietly.

"So, What are your plans this sunny Sunday?"

Her voice was now cheery, but Clint could detect the false note in it. He stretched, watching her back.

"Oh I don't know, Tony mentioned something about taking Steve to the cinema"

"Hmm" was Natasha's reply

"But I thought it would be cool to go skydiving"

"MmmHmm" Natasha agreed, her mind clearly elsewhere.

"Then maybe shoot some birds in the park, in clear view of children"

"Wait! What?!" She turned sharply to face him, the kettle in one hand and a cup in the other.

"You weren't listening, so I made it more interesting"

"Clint..."

She placed the objects down in front of her and poured the hot water, keeping her eyes down.

"This week has been crazy, I'm just tired"

Clint took the cup from her and took her hands in his, resting them on the counter top.

"Go back to bed, I'll bring you breakfast in a bit"

Natasha merely nodded and shuffled of quietly. As she reached the elevator the doors opened revealing a sweaty Steve Rodgers. She raised her hand in way of a greeting and carried on to the newly opened doors of the elevator.

"Morning Tash!"

His greeting missed her as she pressed the button that would take her back to bed.

Clint shook his head at the Captain's unasked question.

"No idea" He embellished.

"Fancy pancakes?"

"Sounds good, I've worked up an appetite almost as big as Thor's!"

Clint laughed

"Bloody hell I'll have to make a truck load!"

Steve smiled as he took a seat at the breakfast bar and unfurled a newspaper.

"So Natasha's gone back to bed?"

"Yeah, I made the mistake of sneaking up on her this morning, I think she has a bug."

Steve looked over his newspaper to the archer.

"You snuck up... on her?"

"I know right, it's weird"

"She must be ill"

Clint nodded as he began to mix what would surely be the first of many batches of pancakes this morning.

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Meanwhile downstairs in their shared apartment, Natasha took the opportunity whilst she was alone and dashed into her bathroom. Clint would be upstairs for at least twenty minutes. However, ever cautious, she spoke softly to J.A.R.V.I.S.

"Could you do me a favour please J?"

"Certainly Miss Romanov, what can I do to be of assistance?"

"Can you warn me when Clint is coming downstairs?"

"Yes, Miss Romanov, anything else?"

"Actually, I don't suppose you could tell him that I'm in bed if he asks?"

"Of course"

"And this can be our little secret then J?"

"Yes, Miss Romanov"

"Thanks, J"

"You are more than welcome Miss Romanov"

Quietly she read and re read the instructions. She followed them quickly, setting her watch to go off in three minutes. She placed the item next to the sink and leant forward to the mirror behind it. She whispered in Russian as she looked into her own green eyes. They certainly looked brighter than they had done before. Natasha shook the thought away, closing her eyes but still leaning against the mirror. She counted in Russian, then English and then back to Russian.

After an age her watch finally beeped.

She waited a moment, until her heart rate slowed to a somewhat normal pace again, then she steeled herself for what she was about to do.

She brought her eyes down slowly, and found herself staring at two blue lines.

**Hello, if you are reading this you have stumbled upon my first ever FanFiction :D If by some miracle people do read this, PLEASE PLEASE review! I'd love to know how you think I can improve and if you enjoyed it or not :) This story will have more chapters if there is a good response :) I would love to introduce the other characters and I do have more of an action plot developing in my mind, so hopefully that too. **

**Claudia :) **


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you to those who have read this story :D I really hope you enjoyed it and if you didn't pleeeeease review so I have some idea about how to improve :D **

* * *

Natasha Romanov was not the type of woman to get scared. When hundreds of aliens descended from the sky last year she had felt nothing but determination and a desire for revenge. While in Russia she had often scoffed at the many dangerous men that had dared to wave guns in front of her. Her reputation preceded her and on many occasions she could sense the fear that rolled off of her targets. Their pupils would dilate, their breath would become shallow and she would know that if she could hear their heartbeat, it would be pounding with the desire to live.

Yet as she stood in her bathroom, in the apartment she shared with her partner Clint, she felt fear. Her eyes lingered on the object causing this panic. A simple white stick. The stick wasn't the problem, it was the two blue lines that indicated her life was about to alter dramatically.

She was pregnant.

Her heart rate picked up and she swallowed quickly attempting to keep bile from rising into her mouth. She shook her heard, clearing it momentarily. She began the process of calming her body. Something she had been taught at S.H.I.E.L.D years ago, but had never really had to use. Within seconds she could feel herself calming down.

"J?" She enquired quietly.

"Miss Romanov?"

"Where is Clint?"

"Mr Barton is currently in the Kitchen with Captain Rodgers and Miss Potts"

"Pepper" She whispered to to herself.

Natasha threw the little white stick into the bin to her left, taking care to cover it with tissue paper. She then proceeded to withdraw her phone from her pocket. Thinking hard she began to type...

'Need you ASAP. Don't tell C. I'll be in Lib.'

She hit send and bit her lip. She left the bathroom shooting a dirty look at the bin as she passed. As she reached the rarely used kitchen of her apartment she opened the air vent that was above the microwave. She slipped inside and began her ascent, double checking she had closed the entrance behind her.

Floors Above her Pepper Potts felt her phone buzz. She was halfway through a plate of Clint's pancakes. She dropped her fork and picked up her phone to see a message from Natasha.

That's odd, she thought to herself.

Off all the changes that had taken place in the past year, Pepper had never imagined becoming one of Natasha's closest friends would have been one. She had not been happy when Tony announced to her that the 'Avengers' would be moving into her tower. So much so that Tony was unusually quiet for an entire month after the argument that followed his announcement. To Pepper's surprise however, the strange group of people that now shared their home had become family and Natasha her closest female ally.

Even so, it was extremely odd for Natasha to text her.

Something must be wrong. She frowned at her pancakes.

"Something up Pep?"

"Nothing at all Barton, your pancakes were perfetto as always"

"You've hardly eaten any!?"

"Yeah, Sorry, I just need to go double check something quickly, can you keep them warm for me?" She asked, putting her knife and fork down.

"Sure thing" Clint replied, he looked a little disheartened, but Pepper shook it off. She flashed him a toothy smile as she got up and exited towards the library.

"What is up with everyone today?!" Clint sighed, exasperated.

Steve didn't look up from his paper, but Clint saw him shrug his shoulders.

As soon as Clint turned his back, Steve snuck Pepper's abandoned plate behind his paper and crept back out heading to his apartment. Clint continued to mutter to himself as he began to wash up.

"It's not like I make my pancakes often, it would be nice to feel a little appreciation!"

Clint turned to look at Steve but found an empty seat and an empty plate. He sighed heavily and went back to the washing up.

* * *

Pepper looked at her watch as she entered the library. It was 9am and she could hear doors opening beneath her feet. The others must be getting up. She looked around her and smiled. Natasha wasn't there yet so she went to the windows to take in the view. If Stark tower had been 12% her baby, this was definitely a good 10% of that twelve. Like the shared kitchen and living room the windows but in the library there was a ledge filled with cushions. The library had been placed so that in the morning and evening it got the best view of the rising and setting sun. Behind her book shelves lined the high walls filled with countless volumes. Pepper turned thinking to herself that she may as well grab a book while she waited. When she found Natasha waiting there she nearly fainted.

"Jesus Christ! What the mmppppfff" Pepper began to shout, but Natasha swooped behind her and put her hand of her mouth before she could finish her sentence.

"I'm sorry Pep, just calm down a second ok?"

Pepper nodded as best she could and Natasha released her.

"Nat, what is going on?"

She was whispering but Natasha still moved towards the door in panic. She locked the door and began to pace frantically.

"Seriously you're scaring me! Where did you come from? I didn't hear anything"

Natasha stopped and her tight expression softened. Pepper was not used to seeing her like this and Natasha rarely used her stealthy tactics anymore. She had stopped being sneaky after moving in, an attempt to get Pepper to warm to her a little more. It must have been rather intimidating to have two master assassins, a god, a super soldier and potential green rage monster moving into your home. She forced herself to act more normally.

"Air vents" She stated simply.

"You nearly gave me heart failure! What's going on?!"

Natasha resumed her pacing, albeit a little slower than before.

"I don't know how to say this, you know I'm not used to..." she gestured at the space between them "friends. Girlfriends."

Pepper took a step towards her and Natasha stopped pacing again.

"Ok, well, take a deep breath in"

Natasha inhaled deeply

"And out"

She did so but was avoiding Pepper's eyes, Pepper placed a hand upon the Black Widow's shoulder.

"Nat! Look at me. Ok nothing can be that hard to tell me, just say it"

Natasha had finally raised her eyes to Pepper's and she could see genuine concern in them.

She took another deep breath with her eyes closed and she tensed as if forcing the words out.

"I'm pregnant"

Pepper's hand slipped from her shoulder and Natasha felt her hands encased within Pepper's. Natasha opened her eyes to see Pepper beaming and almost against her will she felt the corners of her own mouth twitch.

"Pepper...I...I'm scared"

"You're smiling"

"Well yes, but only because you're grinning like a loon"

Pepper smiled warmly at her friend and had to stifle a laugh. Here she was, a professional assassin turned S.H.I.E.L.D agent turned Avenger, and she was scared. It was utterly bizarre to Pepper.

"Are you laughing at me?! Here I am telling you this earth shattering news, confessing that I feel fear, me! I feel fear and you're laughing"

Natasha sounded annoyed but her smile betrayed her and before long she too was laughing. They moved to sit by the windows, calming down.

"So..." Pepper ventured cautiously

"So?"

"It is Clint's isn't it?"

She swatted Pepper on the shoulder by way of an answer and they both laughed again. The possibility of it being anyone else's was ridiculous. Clint and Natasha, Barton and Romanov, Hawkeye and the Black Widow were partners, in every sense of the word.

"How am I going to tell him?! What are we going to do?! We're not exactly good parent material, I mean look at us..." Natasha left her sentence hanging, unable to finish it.

"The same way you'd tell him anything else. The rest you have to figure out with him."

They smiled at one another and surprisingly Natasha did not struggle as Pepper hugged her.

"Now time for your partner's speciality pancakes, that's if Thor has left us any"

Natasha laughed and followed Pepper out of the library, dreading the inevitable conversation that she and her partner would soon be having.


	3. Chapter 3

**Just a small chapter today, I'm not sure whether I will be continuing with this story so this is just to test the waters again! **

* * *

When Natasha and Pepper returned to the kitchen from their library, Clint had been joined by Bruce and Tony. The three men turned to face them, greeting them with mouths full of pancakes.

"Mmnat! you fffshould be in bed!"

"Please don't talk with your mouth full Barton! I'm feeling better, besides you were taking too long, I'm hungry"

As the women took their seats at the dining room table, Tony opened his full mouth to say something but was silenced by a look from Pepper. He swallowed hastily.

"We're taking Cap to the Cinema, wanna join us?"

Pepper answered for herself and Natasha

"Depends what you're watching"

"We haven't decided yet. Can't really trust good old Cap to decide he'd have us watching some WW2 documentary or worse a romance"

Clint shuddered jokingly at the word and Bruce just smiled.

"Better a rom-com than a horror film, you don't want Big Green bursting out, it'll ruin everyone's fun"

Everyone laughed

"Not mine" joked Tony.

"I'd love to see what Big Green would make of a cinema"

Pepper and Natasha shook their heads but their smiles diminished their disapproving looks. Bruce Banner was the first to move into the tower after the battle of New York. Tony hadn't batted an eyelid, refusing to accept Bruce's protests of 'but the other guy...' reassuring the doctor that he had money and space to even accommodate the 'other guy' should he wish to make a more permanent change.

Clint rose and took the plates on the breakfast bar to the sink. He then proceeded to mix the third batch of pancakes that morning.

"Hey Clint...didn't you say you'd keep mine warm?"

"Yeah but dear old Cap had other ideas"

"Jeez and there I was thinking he was the gentleman of the group" Pepper ignored the squawk of protest from Tony and continued "Where is he now?"

"Hiding in his apartment probably"

"Right, Mr Stark, I require your assistance, follow me please"

"But Bruce was going to come take a look at the Mark VII!" Bruce looked up briefly from his paper, glancing between Pepper and Tony.

"Well whatever Pepper has planned looks far more interesting... I'll take a look at it later"

Tony huffed like a small child, so Pepper rose from her chair slowly and sauntered towards the door. All three men watched as she reached the elevator.

"Mr Stark" Her voice was low and sultry "I'll make it worth your while"

"Well then..." Tony cleared his throat, tripping over his feet in his haste to reach Pepper.

"Smooth Stark" Bruce's smirk followed Pepper and Tony into the elevator.

"Damn"

"BARTON!" Clint jumped at Natasha's tone

"What?! I only meant that... um... Steve is in trouble" He was blushing and was not meeting Natasha's eyes.

"Sure you did bird brain"

Natasha appeared to think for a moment, before her eyes lit up mischievously

"Looks like he's not the only one in trouble"

"Not from you, Banner"

Again Natasha's tone was playful, but he could sense that something was not quite right underneath her smile. Deciding it was probably best if he left, Bruce folded his paper and nodded in Clint's direction and then Natasha's.

Clint was still mixing the pancakes and was unaware that Natasha's face had fallen when Bruce had left. When he turned to face her it was to find Natasha with her head in her hands, breathing steadily. He placed the bowl upon the breakfast bar and walked steadily to her.

"Nat?!" he spoke softly, kneeling beside her with his hand placed gently on her back.

She inhaled sharply, as if she hadn't noticed he was there. Then she inhaled deeply, as if steeling herself for something.

Before Natasha could articulate the words that were on her tongue, the assembly alarm sounded.

Both were on their feet and alert as J.A.R.V.I.S announced that Director Fury was on his way.

"Director Fury requests that you suit up. Immediately"


End file.
